Snowflake
by StormGold
Summary: Love...it's like a snowflake. At first, it doesn't start out as anything significant. But give it time, and it becomes delicate. Precious. Beautiful. And just like any snowflake, love is unique. It's never quite like any love you've known before. Jelsa. Post Frozen.
1. Break

Her breath fogged up the icy carriage window as she watched her hometown slip farther and farther away.

* * *

It had been a little over a year since she had been coronated, and the young queen had been working nonstop. _Papers,_ the queen thought to herself. _I have to get through the papers._ The ruler could usually be found tense, signing document after document, and attending dozens of meetings with foreign delegates who she would most likely never meet again. Her sister was constantly going on about how she was working too hard, and that she deserved a much-needed break.

"There's still so much to be done, Anna," the ruler sighed, shuffling the various contracts and letters on her polished, oak desk. This was only partially true. The queen was always at least five steps ahead of her schedule, but with her sister's upcoming wedding, there was still some planning to be done.

"Elsa, you _need_ to get some rest. The wedding is not until the spring-"

"That's only three months-

"So take a couple weeks off-"

"A couple of _weeks_? Oh no," she muttered, "I couldn't possibly. No." Seeing her younger sister's hopeful look, she repeated herself. "No, Anna. No, I- no. There's so much to be done, and such little time…" Elsa wrung her hands, as she always did when she was upset.

Her sister laughed, rolling her eyes as she did so. "Honestly, _I'm_ the one getting married. _I_ should be the one who is stressed out. You need a break, Elsa." Before her older sister could sigh, Anna hugged her snugly around the neck. "Don't worry, Elsa. I'll setup _everything_."

* * *

Five days later, Elsa was promptly suffocated with a quick, tight hug, shoved into a carriage by her much eager sister, and bid farewell as the horses started to trot, and the carriage slowly began to make its way to its mystery destination.

Elsa leaned out the carriage window and raised her voice. "Anna! Where are you sending me?"

"Don't worry! You'll be fine!"

"_Anna!_"

The queen's sister was now jogging alongside the carriage. "Some place near France!" she shouted. The carriage wheels clattered loudly against the dusty stone ground, and the horses snorted in sync. "Or was it Switzerland? Hmm…" Seeing her older sister's worry etched on to her face, Anna reassured her. "You'll be _fine_, Elsa! Everything's been arranged. You'll be safe! Send someone if you need anything! I lov-"

Finally the carriage picked up its pace, send whirls of dust up behind it. Elsa reached a hand out toward Anna, who bounced excitedly in front of the gates waving farewell.

"'Love you too," sighed the young queen, and gazed at her kingdom, which appeared smaller and smaller as the carriage whisked her away.

* * *

The trip was seven days long.

Elsa was a week away from Arendelle.

And she had absolutely no idea where she was.

They had arrived to an estate practically drowning in trees on a bright, chilly morning. A pine-lined avenue led the way to a charming stone castle, with tall towers and rose bushes surrounding the entrance.

_Perhaps this trip will not be so bad, _thought Elsa. The queen stepped gracefully out of the carriage as soon as it came to a halt, and marveled at the beautiful architecture.

"Welcome, Your Majesty," said a kindly voice.

Elsa turned to see an old woman, with laugh lines as numerous as the scales on a fish, and brown eyes as warm and inviting as fresh milk chocolate. She could tell that the aged lady was beautiful in her youth.

"Call me Elsa, please," the queen gave a quick curtsy. "Thank you so much for allowing me to say here, Miss…"

"Agatha," the woman chuckled. "Did your sister really not tell you anything about where you would be staying?" Seeing the young ruler glancing shyly at the ground, Agatha did her best to try and make her feel comfortable. "Don't worry, dear. I promise you'll have a lovely time. There are quite a few activities that can be done on the grounds, so you will have plenty of things to keep you occupied. I'm afraid there are only a few of us here on the estate, but I am having a small ball in a couple days from now, so that is something to look forward to, isn't it-"

Agatha watched Elsa standing by the flowers, nervously wringing her hands. With a small smile, the old lady walked over to the girl, and took the young, cool hands into her own wrinkled ones.

"My dear, I have heard your story, and it seems to me that you have had a rather tough year. Your sister also explained to me- quite thoroughly, in fact- about how hard you work. And if you don't believe a young sibling when she says this, let an old woman tell you. You deserve a little break. You have shown the people of Arendelle that you are fit to rule. Ask them, and they will tell you that you are doing incredibly amazing as a queen. Everything is being taken care of back at your home, and I'm told you are always ahead in your work," the lady finished with a wink. "See these eight weeks here as a time to relax." With that, Agatha began walking through the front doors.

Elsa, who was calmed by the woman's words, immediately tensed and quickly rushed after Agatha as she recalled her revealing the amount of time the ruler would be staying here. "Eight weeks, Agatha?" she practically squeaked.

The lady of the castle only laughed, and looped her arm through Elsa's. "Come along, dear. Let me show you to your rooms."

* * *

Finally, when night fell, and the birds ceased to chirp, the few maids, butlers, and Agatha had retired to bed. Elsa however sat at her window dressed in a floor-length nightgown, gazing longingly at the stars. Lazily creating swirls of ice against the window, unable to sleep, the queen decided that some fresh air would be helpful to her buzzing nerves. Grabbing her purple cloak and hastily shoving on a pair of slippers, Elsa quietly made her way out of the castle, which she knew very well now, thanks to a thorough tour with Agatha.

Once outside, Elsa immediately made her way to the nearby wood. _Eight weeks without any work?_ Elsa worried herself with thoughts of everything that could go wrong in Arendelle in her absence. _What if Anna doesn't know how to handle something? What if the Prime Minister needs my assistance? In eight weeks, I could finish planning Anna's wedding, or finish all my winter papers, maybe write that letter I was planning to send to the Queen of Corona, the one about business trades-"_

_Crack._ Elsa looked down, and saw that she had stepped on a frozen branch. A moment later, she noticed that she had also made her way on to pond, which was completely frozen as well. The pond was surrounded by ivory bare-branched trees, which seemed to wave back at her as the swayed in the soft wind.

Above her was a bright, full moon. Glistening and round like a new silver coin. _How lovely,_ she thought. _How peaceful. _She had never really taken the time to appreciate nature. No, there never seemed to be a moment she could spare... She was always sitting at her desk, hunched over stacks and stacks of work that Anna always told her could wait another day. But this pond, practically glowing blue was so beautiful, and and the moon shone so vibrantly. Elsa swayed, and realized how tired she was from all her daily work. _Maybe I should return back to the castle now. Maybe get some rest_… Elsa was about to turn around and return to her rooms, when she heard another snap.

The young queen looked to see someone across the pond from her, and as she looked closer, she saw that it was a boy.

A barefoot boy.

A boy with a tall, wooden staff, which curled into an unfamiliar shape at the top

A boy with well-worn brown pants, and a deep blue sweater that looked drizzled in frost.

Someone with hair as white as snow, something she would never forget for the rest of her life.

Blue eyes met blue.

* * *

**A/N: This started out as a prompt from my friend. What do you think? I feel like this has some potential to become a good fic. Should I continue?**

**edit: please not that the next chapter is _much much_ longer than this one. :) Hope you enjoyed!**


	2. Laugh

Neither of the two moved, both pairs of feet frozen on the pond. There they stood, staring at each other. Observing one another. Both were too startled to speak, yet all their unspoken words swarmed their mind, suffocating their thoughts.

She first thought he was a peasant boy, one who had wandered far from his village. But the nearest one was at least fifty miles away, much too far for a walk. She then thought that perhaps he worked for Agatha, and was going to ask him so- until the soft wind blew and ruffled his hair.

_White _hair, she thought. _His hair is _white.

Such an unusual white as well. It wasn't a white blonde like her own hair, which shined like pale gold in sunlight, but a pure, clean white. Not quite like the bright shade of clean white glove, yet not quite like the creamy color of ivory. It was a soft white…sort of like…sort of like…

_Like snow_, she mused.

* * *

He had been studying her after he noticed her from across the pond. It was the crack of the branch she had stepped on that alerted him that he was not alone. He watched her as she raised her face to the sky, gazing at the moon.

To him, she was quite beautiful. And he had seen _many _pretty girls. When you're constantly traveling, you tend to come across a few lovely women, especially ones with blazing features, whether it was sharp cheekbones, or well-endowed curves. She had a delicate look about her, but gave off an aura of strength and authority.

She swayed, and he took a step towards her, snapping a twig beneath his bare foot.

She looked up quickly to find the source of the noise. Then her eyes landed on him. At first he was confused at what she was staring at. Then, when her gaze locked on to his, it was as if his body had turned into a block of ice. He lost all feeling when the realization slowly dawned on him that she was staring at him.

_Seeing_ him.

Looking _at _him.

"Hello," she spoke softly.

Was she…was she speaking to _him_? He didn't think it could be possible, after all, how long had it been since someone had seen him? In fact, he couldn't even remember the last time…

"Hello? Are you even listening to me?" said young woman, sounding slightly annoyed.

He waited a moment, then slowly nodded his head. Had she been talking? He hadn't noticed. Honestly, the only thing he was aware of was her eyes, watching him. Ice blue, he noted.

"I asked if you worked for Agatha. You know- back at the estate?" she was slowly walking towards him.

He simply stood there, still dumbfounded. _She…she's _speaking _to me_, he thought. _She can _see _me._ He decided that it all must be a cruel dream, and he nodded again, wishing for it to never end.

She smiled. "Oh, that's good. At least you aren't a… a _complete_ stranger. Aren't you cold?" The girl started removing her cloak.

"I'm fine," he finally spoke. And lied as well! Was he fine? He wasn't sure… She knit her brows, and he reassured her. "I'm…yeah…alright. The cold…it never…never really bothered me anyway." She laughed at that, and he became confused. Was that funny? At this point, he wasn't sure about anything anymore. There was someone who could see him no less than an arm's length away, and she was _talking _to him. It was too much for one night, even if it was just a dream.

He clenched his staff. "Umm...are you…ah…_looking_ at _me_, uh…miss?" he said as articulately as he could.

She tried to hide her smile as best she could. "I'm sorry," she said, clearly amused. "Am I not supposed to?"

"You're also speaking to me. And…you're _seeing_ me."

"Correct, and correct." She raised an impeccably manicure brow, unsure of where the conversation was leading. "I'm also breathing, standing on this pond, and think you're quite unusual." She smiled as she said the last part.

Cheeky, wasn't she? Well, dream or not, he was going to have fun.

"Uh...sorry," he said, shaking his head. "I don't mean to sound weird, or anything. Must be the cold air getting to me."

"That's okay. Sure you don't want my cloak? Your sweater's got frost on it." She once again began to unclasp her cloak, but he refused once more.

"I'm completely fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive, miss."

"Really?"

He rolled his eyes. He couldn't help himself. "Why wouldn't I be?"

She stared at him questioningly. "Well," she began. "First of all, you're barefoot on a frozen pond. Surely you must be cold-"

"Like I said, I'm fine."

"Secondly, your hair is white-"

"What does _that_ have to do with anything?" he asked incredulously.

"Why- well, I don't know!"

"You know, it's terribly rude to comment on others appearances-"

"I was _not_-"

"You were."

She ran her slender fingers through her wispy bangs disbelievingly, and he smirked. He then noticed her attire. She was dressed in a cream nightgown which danced around her ankles in the light breeze. Her deep purple cloak floated quietly behind her, the gentle flapping of the fabric the only noise in the frosty night.

"I'm Elsa," the young woman said. "What's your name?"

"Jack," he replied. "At your beck and call, madam." He bowed outrageously dramatically.

* * *

She almost laughed out loud. No one had ever teased her like this! Not even Anna had ever treated her this way.

"You're very bold, Jack."

"Indeed." He gave her a lopsided grin. "May I escort you back to wherever you came from, Miss Elsa?" He offered her his arm.

She considered him for a moment, bare feet and all, then took his arm, still hesitant. "We came from the same place. I'm currently staying with Agatha in the castle."

She saw Jack's eyes widen when her arm came in contact with his. "You're real," he breathed.

Elsa tensed, and the boy hurriedly apologized. "Sorry if that was weird...it's just..." Jack quickly regained his composure. "It's just been so long since I've had the pleasure to escort such a lovely woman." The boy tilted his head to the side, grinning broadly.

She rolled her eyes. For the past year, she had been constantly having to deal with suitors visiting from other kingdoms. Anna greatly enjoyed having them at the palace, eager to find someone whose company would please the queen. But Elsa had waved them all away, their petty attempts at flattery getting no where with her.

"Used to compliments, are we?"

She huffed. "Unfortunately." Elsa noticed that he had strayed off the path to the castle and was simply wandering off on his own accord. "You're going the wrong way," she pointed out.

"Forgive me, I'm distracted by your blinding beauty, Miss Elsa. Would you be so kind as to lead the way?"

The queen rolled her eyes once more and did just that.

* * *

"So what were you doing walking around alone at night?" Jack asked the girl.

"I could ask the same of you," Elsa replied.

"Touché ," he replied. "But, I asked you first."

"Just needed to clear my mind about some things. And yourself?"

Jack smirked. "Personal reasons."

Elsa snorted, the sound quite unladylike. "You can tell me you find me attractive, but not why you were lurking around a pond at night?"

"_Lurking?_"

Elsa shrugged.

"And who said I thought you were attractive?" Jack smiled. "I said you were beautiful, not that I'm interested."

She didn't look amused.

"What I mean to say is that for all I know, you could be some insane psychopath underneath that pretty porcelain skin of yours. You never know what a person could be hiding," Jack said. "So, any secrets worth my time, Lady Elsa?"

"_Lady_ Elsa?" She laughed incredulously.

"Well judging by that very expensive-looking cloak, you must have some sort of noble blood," said Jack, gesturing to the burgundy cape trailing behind her.

She raised her chin like a true royal. "How do you know I didn't _steal_ it?"

Jack burst out laughing. "Look at you, with your chin stuck up like that. Think you're superior, do you? I'll call you Princess, then." Jack grinned. "As for the cloak, you're too proper to have stolen it. Wouldn't want to forfeit all the rules of propriety and lower yourself to thievery, _eh _Princess?" Jack swung his staff as the pair walked along.

Not to be bested by a boy, Elsa asked, "Are you very old, Jack?"

The question about his age made him uneasy. "No," he said warily. "Why do you ask?"

"You've got white hair and a cane."

* * *

The pair walked laughing all the way to the estate, cracking jokes and making fun of one another. They giggled as they made fruitless attempts at trying to stifle their laughter.

"Jack. _J-Jack_," said the queen between giggles. "Jack- _shhh_! We'll wake the whole castle. _Jack_."

The young boy was clutching his stomach with his free arm - the other was still linked with Elsa's- trying to contain his laughter. On his face was biggest smile Elsa had ever seen. When had Elsa ever laughed like this? She was careless and free, and she was laughing at night alone with a boy she had just met, and the boy had white hair and was barefoot and she had never done something so insane and improper and it was absolutely _exhilarating_. The last time she felt like this was when- well, when she ran away from home.

_Home_.

Her smile faded, her giggles subsiding. She had almost forgotten. Anna, Arendelle, and all her work had been shoved to the back of her mind while she had been having fun with Jack. Elsa felt a small pang of guilt like a blow to her stomach. Looking back at Jack, her guilt was swept away by his smile. What was she doing? Laughing with someone who didn't even know-

Oh.

_Oh_.

Elsa slowly realized that Jack didn't know who she was. That she was a queen.

That she had ice powers.

Back in Arendelle, _everyone_ knew about the queen's gift. After she had thawed Arendelle from the winter she created, everyone praised her powers. Everyone had befriended her, and she them, but it had left her a little empty inside, because deep down, she felt like they didn't love her for her, but for her ability. Wasn't that the most interesting thing about her? How many times had she heard her suitors compliment her on her magic? More times than she'd like, she realized. But Jack… He had no idea. _And he likes me, doesn't he?_ Elsa thought. _Not because of any special powers I have, but for me._

"Princess?" Jack asked, his laughter slowly dying down. "We're here."

Elsa was roused out of her thoughts. "Huh? Oh. Yes, it seems we are." The two were standing in front of the main doors, the scent of roses floating through the air.

"I'll leave you here, Elsa." Jack said, looking around cautiously. "Um...servants...servants go through the back." He untangled his arm from hers and stepped away.

"I'm sure Agatha won't mind if you go through the front," said Elsa. "Just be quiet and we'll-"

"Princess, I don't think that's such a good ide-"

"No, it's alright-"

Jack noticed one of the door handles turning. He looked at Elsa apologetically. "I have to go."

The door swung open. "Elsa?"

The queen saw Agatha staring confusedly at her, the old woman's arm supporting her against the doorframe. Agatha wrapped her beige robe tighter around her. "Elsa, may I ask what you were doing outside at this hour? It's freezing."

Elsa said hastily, "I'm so sorry, Agatha, if we woke you up. I-"

"_We_, Elsa?" asked Agatha.

"Well, yes," began Elsa, turning around. "I was with…"

But Jack was long gone.

* * *

**A/N: Well, well, well. I'm so sorry it's almost been two months since I wrote another chapter! I swear it won't be like that anymore. I've already started writing the third chapter, so don't worry. Also, you'll find out next chapter why Jack was so antsy about hanging around and going through the front door. Please note that I am planning to make the chapters gradually longer. My goal is about 5,000 words per chapter. If I cant make that, it'll probably be around 3,000 or 4,000. **

**So there it is guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Any comments or concerns? Please let me know. Your feedback is all I have guys. ****Keep me strong.****(Btw, this chapter also doubles as a gift for mah homeboi Brian- Happy Early Birthday!)**

**Please review!**


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